Flesh of the Earth
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: In another timeline, Kyoko and Sayaka's meeting in the church is far less hostile. AU


Sweet juice dripped from the apple, spilling onto Sayaka's hand and the floor below. Despite herself, her stomach rumbled and mouth watered.

"I knew that you were hungry." Kyoko smirked and bit into her half of the apple. Though she chewed with her mouth closed, the sound of her chewing filled the entire run down church. She clutched the bag of apples tighter in her hands.

I'm only hungry because the last thing that I ate was during lunch, Sayaka thought. Her stomach, however, grumbled on.

"How did you get these?" Sayaka asked. Her grip tightened on the apple. Even with the dim light, she could still make out the reflection of her face on the apple's red surface.

"It doesn't matter."

Sayaka's stomach tightened, twisting up inside of herself. Her eyes went back and forth from Kyoko to the fruit in her hand.

"Thanks for coming and sharing this with me. You know how I much I love to eat."

Sayaka had to keep herself from snorting. Kyoko was Mami's newest classmate, who had simply appeared in school one day, right in the middle of the semester, and remained there ever since. Everywhere she went, she always brought food with her, from the halls, to the cafeteria, to even the principal's office.

"The problem is, I doubt that even I could eat all of these." Kyoko's head turned towards the church's ceiling. "I didn't want all of this precious food going to waste."

"Why did you bring me here?" Sayaka supposed Kyoko could be called her friend. They ate lunch together and walked home together, at least until Mami and Kyoko parted ways with Sayaka and Madoka so they could get to get to their student apartments.

"You don't think I'm the church kind of girl, eh?" Kyoko chuckled, though it was lower than usual. The smile on her face never reached her eyes. "I used to come here, you know. It was like my second home."

"Oh." Sayaka paused, unsure of what to say. Beyond her grandmother being Buddhist, her family could hardly be called religious.

"I loved this place. Sometimes I wish that it had loved me back." For a moment, she seemed ready to continue speaking. Instead, she shoved her half of their shared apple in her mouth once again. She ate everything from the skin to the seeds; it was hard to believe that she hadn't finished it already.

"I," Sayaka replied. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Kyoko spoke as she chewed, bits of mushy apple flying from her mouth.

"Did you bring me here to show me this?"

"No." Kyoko's tone dropped. "I heard from a friend that you were asked to make a contract."

Sayaka's eyes widened.

"Oh, don't give me that look. I was sure that you knew my little 'secret'." Putting the rest of the apple in her mouth, Kyoko used her newly freed hand to pull a light red soul gem from her pocket. "I'm sure that Mami's shown you one before."

Sayaka nodded.

"I'm not going to tell you whether or not to do it. Knowing Mami, she's probably given you countless speeches on that already." Kyoko stepped back, wood creaking under her feet. "I just have one thing to tell you and another to ask you." She looked up, her eyes cold and immediately locking on Sayaka's. "If you make a wish, make it for yourself. That's the only payment that you'll ever get for this job, so you better use that wish wisely." She sighed. "I wish that someone had told me that."

Why should my wish matter to her? Sayaka thought.

Sayaka wrenched her eyes away from Kyoko and looked back to the fruit in her hand. "What did you want to ask me?"

"If you do become a magical girl, you'll probably need an ally. Mami should be on your side without question, but I wanted to know if you'd let me help you."

"Huh?"

"I know it seems strange, bringing you all the way out here to ask you that." Kyoko looked around her. "I figured this place would us both feel honest."

The dusty church, with its poor lighting and musky scent, mostly made Sayaka want to sneeze. It could hardly be considered a safe place either, with the broken glass (pieces of once beautiful stained glass windows) and splinters on the floor.

"Why do you want to be my partner?"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to explain why I'm worried about a rookie? This is a serious job." Her eyes softened. Though she was a few feet from Sayaka, she suddenly seemed closer to her than ever before. "So, will you?"

"What's there to lose?" Sayaka finally raised the apple to her lips and bit down into its soft flesh.


End file.
